Desire
by Two Smart Girls
Summary: COMPLETED After Logan's injury, Max deals with her feelings about him. It's got romance, intrigue and a little twist you might not have expected. ML, safe for shippers, but not for canonistas.
1. Chapter 1

Greetings…we're Two Smart Girls…we love DA, but have never written a story together.  We hope you like this one and send us some reviews.  

As usual, we're borrowing this from all the good creative folks over at Dark Angel…we'll put the kids back where we found them when we're done.  And it's free publicity, isn't it?

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Max's eyes scanned over the sheet.  Severed spinal cord.  Eighth thoracic vertebra.   Complete loss of mobility in the lower extremities.

Her eyes moved over his still body, the only sound in the room were the monitors keeping track of his blood pressure and pulseox.

She grabbed his wallet from the drawer, but it was empty.  Her eyes moved down to take in his face, his still body.

A movement outside the window caught her eye and she turned to see what it was.  Spotting the sniper on the building across the street, she carefully detached Logan from the machines and moved him into the hallway, away from danger.

Girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

^^^^^^^

She stood at the window, not sure if she should go in or not.  It was clear that he was struggling, but it didn't feel like her place.  She waited a couple more minutes, then, reached for the door and walked into Logan's room.

"Can I help you with that?"

Logan looked up at her, surprised.  "How did you find me?'

"Can't escape and evade this long without a few tricks up my sleeve."

Logan nodded.

"So…can I help?" Max asked again.

Logan shrugged.

Max knelt down in front of him.  His legs dangled off the edge of the hospital bed, his feet in socks, pointed down, not moving.  Max reached for the pants that lay next to him on the table.  She slipped his right foot into the pants and then the left.  Pulling them up to his knees, she stopped, unsure of what to do next.

"Yeah, I wasn't sure what to do here either," Logan replied.

"Can you lift yourself?" she asked.

He shook his head.  "Not yet."

Max lifted Logan's limp left leg and moved the pants further up.  Then she repeated the same action with his right leg.  He was watching as she rolled him toward her on his right hip and then the left, her hand moving up his thigh, continuing through the unfeeling zones of his body.

"Thank you," he said.

"No problem," Max replied.  "Not like I didn't probably owe you a little somethin'."

Max watched as he transferred into the chair, how his body moved now, how his arms made up for the legs that no longer worked.  He struggled to shift his weight from the bed to the chair, but she knew he would not want help.  With one last effort, he slipped into the chair.  He picked his feet up one at a time and put them on the bar that served as a footrest.  His hands slid down to the wheels of his chair and he pivoted to face her, his right arm pushing forward as the left one held him in place.

Sitting there, in the chair, he was different somehow.  That night, in the Penthouse, as he had come on to her, trying to see her barcode, there had been something, a stirring, but now…it was very different.  

Her eyes moved down his body, along his strong arms that would propel his body now, further to his chest, covered in a white t-shirt and then down to his still legs, his feet unfeeling in their socks.

"I'm supposed to wait here for the therapist," Logan told her.  "You don't have to stay, if you don't want to."

Max sat down on the edge of the bed, facing him.  "Is there anything I can do to help with the therapy?  Cause I'd do it.  If you want me to."

"Thanks," Logan replied.  "I'd like that.  It's been…well…hard.  And today they're taking me to the pool for the first time."

"I can hold my breath for a very long time," Max answered, smiling.

^^^^^^^

Max trailed behind as the young woman pushed Logan's chair down the hall to the water therapy room.  He had wheeled himself for the first half of the distance, but it was clear his strength had not totally returned and the aide said he should save himself for the therapy session.

"It's the hardest work I've done," Logan had said to her as they waited.

She didn't ask him about his plans, about his fears, how this had changed everything.  She couldn't, not yet.  Besides, she had to figure out why this had changed everything for her.

Logan disappeared into a locker room to change into his bathing suit.  She waited on the edge of the pool, looking up when a young man walked in.

"Did you bring your suit?" he asked.

Max shook her head.  "I had no idea I would need one."

"We have extras in the women's locker room.  You can borrow one if you like."

Max shrugged.  "I don't know.  I don't want to get in the way."

"No, really, it's no problem.  My assistant is gone today, so I could use the extra set of hands.  And I think he could use you for some emotional support.  It's clear that he feels pretty alone in all of this."

Max nodded and then turned to head toward the locker room.  She stopped and turned back.  "Did he say that?"

"He mentions your name enough that I know you mean something special," the therapist answered.

Max stared at him for another beat and then turned back toward the locker room.

^^^^^^^

When she came out, Logan was waiting on the side of the pool in his chair.  She caught his eye and smiled, then let her eyes drop and move along his body once again.  His legs bare, she could see how limp they looked until the right one suddenly moved.  She gasped slightly and looked back up at him, her face full of questions.

"My legs haven't quite figured out what's happened yet," Logan replied to her unanswered question.  "The therapy will help with the spasm.  Plus, it helps keep everything toned since my Stairmaster days are over."

Max nodded again.  She felt like she had been so quiet all day, but the witty comebacks had been slower to appear.  There was a spot in her stomach that made her feel unsettled, but at the same time compelled her to stay there, with him, no matter what.

She stepped back as the therapist approached to help Logan into the pool.  She watched as he set a stool next to Logan's chair, then helped Logan transfer to the stool and then again to the floor.

"Max, you get in the pool," the therapist said.

She walked over to the steps and entered the warm water.  "This feels great, Logan," she called.

"Can't wait," Logan replied.

She walked over to the wall near where Logan and the therapist waited.  She stepped closer as the therapist directed.  He stood behind Logan and moved his body forward as she took Logan's legs and directed them into the water.  The therapist had Logan brace himself into a sitting position with his arms as the therapist got into the pool.

He took Max's place and helped Logan into the water.

"Now Max, you come here, behind Logan and help him float."

Max moved around Logan, watching as his limp legs floated in the water.  She slipped her arms under his and pulled his head close to her chest.

She listened as the therapist explained why they were working in the pool, how it was important to keep Logan's muscles supple now that he wasn't using them.

But she also could feel the muscles along his abdomen, when she readjusted her arms to hold him up, how some were still working and others weren't.  It was amazing how suddenly they were slack.  It was hard to not keep moving her hands down there to feel it.

Logan's legs moved gracefully through the water, as the therapist bent and released them.  It was like a fine ballet.

Finally it was time to get out of the water.  Max held Logan as the therapist reversed the process they had used to get him in the water.  When Logan was out of the pool, she climbed out and got a towel to lay on the seat of his wheelchair.  The therapist helped Logan into the chair and she took the second towel to dry him off.

"You did a good job," she said to Logan as she picked his right leg up and began moving the towel along, wiping away the water.  She moved up the leg, paying close attention to the spot behind his knee, drying it carefully.  Up his thigh she moved, the hair on his legs sticking up ever so slightly.  As she reached his abdomen, he laughed.

"What?" she asked.

"I'm still ticklish," he replied, smiling at her.

She laughed lightly and returned to her duty of drying him off.

Logan grabbed her hand, towel and all.  "Thanks, Max.  Thanks for being here."

Unable to respond, she just nodded and then looked away, her towel moving across his chest and onto his shoulders.  Finally finished, she stepped back to survey her work.

"You must be getting cold," she said.

"You could dress me," he replied, an evil twinkle in his eye.

She thought for a moment, then smiled.  "Not today."

^^^^^^^

She had been thinking about him all week.  All month.  Since that day at the hospital, really.  Constantly.

As she slipped into the apartment, she could hear him doing an Eyes Only broadcast.  A smile crossed her face.  He was back, really back.

She paused, not sure how she was going to react when she saw him again.  Taking a deep breath, she walked into the room

"See you're back at it. Rockin' the boat."

"Somebody's got to," Logan answered, turning to face her.

"I would have come sooner, but...I didn't. How you doin'?" she asked, her voice staying calm.

"Not in any pain...the good and bad news of a blown-out spinal cord," Logan replied, his voice clipped.

Her eyes drifted over his body, the wheelchair, his unmoving legs.  "I'm sorry."

"My mother used to say, 'The universe is right on schedule. Everything happens the way it's supposed to.'"

Her eyes snapped to his, shock in her voice.  "You believe that?"

"I've never been much for trying to figure out why bad things happen. I just know they do. So, the job's trying to figure out how to deal with the consequences...which you did. Took that son of a bitch out."

Max watched him as he kept talking, adding comments where necessary.  He was still Logan, champion of the downtrodden, but there was something different about him, about how she felt about him.  Before he'd been the means to an end, but now…

It wasn't that she felt responsible.  No.  It was something else.  It was that feeling, deep in her body.  That warmth, that desire.

It was the thing that had kept him in her dreams.

"I need a favor," Logan asked.

"You can keep this. I really don't have anyplace to put it," she replied handing him back the cat statue he had tried to return to her again.  This feeling, it was strange and while she was so drawn to him, there was part of her that was saying she should stay away.  It was the thing that had kept her away from him since the day at the hospital when the sniper had tried to kill him.

But it was the same thing that kept the visions, the thoughts, the dreams coming.

"On another matter...federal corrections used to keep records on distinguishing marks...scars, tattoos. I did a search and came up with this. ID-ed as a Michael Hanover. Booked for armed robbery nine years ago. He escaped custody after four hours. Hasn't been seen or heard from since."

Max took the file from Logan.  "Zack."

There was no going back now.

The End


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Max looked out over the Seattle skyline. The noise and chaos of the city seemed to melt away when she sat up here on the Space Needle. Zack. Could it be? How could Logan have found him so quickly?

She sighed as her thoughts drifted back to Logan's apartment. He had looked better than she had imagined, stronger. But there was still some fragility to him that had not been there before he had been shot. 

Logan opened the drawer, bracing himself as he leaned forward to pull Zack's file out. She watched as he leaned forward, careful to not lean too far. He took the file and then, before handing it to her, he slowly pushed himself back upright in the chair.

Max shook her head. She couldn't keep thinking of him that way. She had to focus on the intel he had given her, on her search to find her family. Obsessing about Logan…obsessing about the way he looked, the way he moved…that wasn't going to help anyone. Not her. Not Logan. And certainly not Zack.

^^^^^^^

Logan spread the map across this kitchen table. "My sources tell me that the boat is kept in slip number 35. I don't think it should be that hard to get on board.

Max nodded, her eyes glancing instead to take in the chair that Logan was using. It looked pretty basic, but expensive. Not flashy like the ones she'd seen guys playing wheelchair basketball using. Her gaze stuck on the small wheels at the back of the chair.

"What are those for?" she asked, pointing to them.

Logan stopped and stared at her. "They're anti-tippers. They stop me from tipping over on my back, breaking my poor unfeeling pride. Did you hear what I said about the patrol at 9:42 pm?"

Max nodded. Yeah, she was multi-tasking. Listening to Logan's point by point break down and at the same time taking in his fine…

Her thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell.

Logan looked up, a creased worry line crossing his forehead. "We're going to have to wrap up here. You got the plan?"

"I got the plan," Max replied. "You entertaining guests?"

"Something like that," Logan replied as he released the brakes on his chair and pushed back from the table. "So, I'll see you later?"

"Yeah. Soon as I get the money…" She walked slowly behind him as he headed toward the front door, stopping as Logan reached up and opened the door. A gorgeous ebony-colored man with a shaved head walked in.

"Max, this is Bling, my therapist. Bling, this is…well…this is Max."

Bling stuck out his hand and Max shook it. 

"So, you getting Logan back in the saddle?" Max asked.

Bling laughed. "Yeah, that's the plan. If I can tear him away from his computer."

Without responding, Logan pivoted his chair and headed toward the now converted therapy room.

"So, how often are you working with him?" Max asked as they trailed behind Logan.

"Every day for right now. He should have stayed at the rehab hospital another couple of weeks, but he was adamant that he get home," Bling answered.

Max laughed. "Yeah, he's nothing if not adamant."

"Let's get this over with," Logan called from the behind the screen demarcating the edge of the room.

Bling shot a quick smile at Max and then walked over to where Logan waited. "You want to move onto the table?"

Logan looked up where Max stood waiting and raised his eye brows slightly.

"Yeah, I've got to go," Max replied to his unspoken command.

Bling turned to face her. "It was nice to meet you, Max."

"Likewise," Max replied as she turned and left the apartment.

^^^^^^

Max walked back into the apartment. It was quiet and the only light was in the therapy room. She walked in and found Logan sitting on the table, his shirt and hair damp with sweat from his work out.

"Did Bling leave?" she asked.

Logan nodded. "Yeah, he got a call and had to go."

Max crossed the room until she was standing next to where he sat. "So, how did the session go?"

"It was fine," Logan answered. "But Bling had to go before he finished stretching my legs. I was trying to do the stretches myself, but I can't. I'm afraid that I'll have spasms tonight if I'm not stretched properly."

Max took Logan's foot in her hand. "Can you show me what to do?" 

Logan lay back on the table, his feet at the very edge near where Max was standing. As Logan directed, she took his left heel and rested the bottom of his foot against the inside of her forearm. She put her other hand on his shin and pulled down on the heel, bending the top of the foot toward his knee.

"Hold it for a count of ten," Logan instructed her. When she had, she set the left foot down and did the same with his right foot. "Next is the hip rotation. You'll have to come up here for that," he said, indicating she should climb up on the therapy table with him.

Max easily mounted the table so she could lift his leg, her hands on the soft, flaccid muscles. She bent his knee, pushing Logan's leg toward his abdomen. Her hand slipped down from his waist, moving down his body toward the upper thigh where she had been stretching. She looked up, but Logan had not noticed. He remained on his back, not watching what she was doing, unaware of where she had been exploring. She began to gently roll his leg from side to side, stretching out the paralyzed muscles that would protest if they didn't have some attention each day.

"Is that good?" she asked. 

Logan pushed himself into a sitting position and nodded. "Yeah, thanks, Max. I think we're finished."

"Anything else I can do? I mean, you need help getting off the table or anything?" Max asked as she pushed Logan's wheelchair where he could reach it.

Logan shook his head, then lifted his body with his arms, moving carefully to the edge of the table, then reached for his chair with his outstretched left arm. Max watched as his upper body shift from the table to the chair, and then as he reached back to pull his legs along putting first his left and then his right foot down on the footrest. Then he lifted himself up and shifted slightly in the chair.

"I should take a shower," Logan said.

Max watched as he turned and headed toward his bedroom. She wanted to follow him, into the bathroom…and the shower.

"Watch out!!!"

Max swerved her bike around the back of the truck where the deliveryman stood with his hands on his hips still yelling at her.

She shook her head. She had to keep her mind on the job ahead. The wharf was only a few minutes away. She had a job to do. A job on ... no, for ... Logan.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for the great reviews so far.  We love getting them and would like to hear from others if you're reading the story.  There was a comment wondering if this was safe for shippers...well, we're season one shipper girls, so we think you'll be happy.

Hope you're enjoying the ride... - 2 Smart Girlsss

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Max slipped in the apartment. Logan had beeped her while she was at Crash, and while it had annoyed her, at the same time she was also relieved and strangely aroused.  She was in one of those moods…the mood where she would jump the bones of just about anything or anyone who presented himself to her. A relatively unpleasant prospect, Eric had been her mark tonight…well, until she got beeped. And on the way over, the prospect of seeing Logan again…that wasn't a disappointment either.

She could hear Bling and Logan in the therapy room. Logan was really pushing it, having Bling come in twice a day. But she could understand. He felt out of control about his condition, and if there was anything Logan Cale wanted…it was control.

"Come on, Bling...one more set," she heard Logan say behind the screen. She slid around the corner to find Logan sitting on the table, his upper body covered in sweat from the session. There was no sweat on his legs, which now lay still, hanging off the table.

"You can't do this all at once. You've got to pace yourself, man. Otherwise, you'll burn out," Bling replied.

"I don't think so," Logan argued back. Max remained silent in the corner, watching the two interact.

"Patience in all things, my friend," Bling consoled, then looked up and saw that Max had arrived. "Anyway, you got company."

Max snapped back from her thoughts. "Hey, kids. Am I interrupting?" she asked lightly.

Logan and Bling teased a bit more until Bling left. Logan was pushing it and Bling had told him so.

"Don't you need to get some water?" she asked. On his way out the door, Bling had reminded Logan to rehydrate.

Logan sighed and reached for his chair. "Yeah, better follow the doctor, or rather, *therapist's* order. I don't want to get in trouble." He slid gracefully from the table into his chair. His ability to get around had really improved in the past few weeks, and he had gotten much stronger. The muscles across his chest rippled as he swung his body onto the chair cushion. He still made a slight grunt as he did so, but she liked that.  She watched as he lifted his feet off the table and down onto the footrests, each move smooth and practiced.

"Huh?" she asked, realizing Logan had asked her a question.

"Did you have any luck with our friends tonight?" he asked again.

"Yeah," Max responded, dumping her bag of money out on the therapy table.  "It's amazing what happens when you put three dirt bags in a room and money disappears. Tempers flare. Guns are drawn. Three dead dirt bags."

Logan laughed and she looked up, trying to figure out if he knew what was causing her inattention. It was always something gnawing at her when she was over here, something about him, but tonight…tonight it was much worse.  Tonight she was ready to just flip him backward out of that chair and take him right on the…

"This will at least be partial repayment for what they paid the smugglers.  And with Solinski and company deceased, I'd say our work is through here."

Work? Done? What? Max was confused. This was all he needed her for? She watched as Logan pivoted his chair and began wheeling toward the kitchen.

"Uh, uh…not so fast," she demanded.

Logan stopped and turned back so he was facing her.

"We're not done. No…we aren't." Her heart was pounding, her face was getting flushed and she was…well…wet.

"No, I think we're square," Logan answered. "And really, thanks Max."

She stood there for a minute, then took a step closer to him. "No, we're not done. This was an exchange. I help you, you find my brothers and sisters. Where's Zack?"

"I'm still developing information," Logan responded.

"Whatever that means," Max retorted.

"It means when I come up with something substantive, you'll be the first to know."

Now she was getting irritated with him. "Look, I kept my end of the bargain by running this little errand for you…"

"And I fully intend to keep mine. But Project Manticore was a covert operation. It's going to take some time. 'Patience in all things,' right?" Logan asked.

Patience. Hah. He should try to live in her body, with her life and then be patient…but, he was living in a whacked out body. He *did* need to be patient. She had to cut him some slack. Maybe get him on the couch with a nice glass of wine, massage his feet…

No, she was still getting her fair share of his time. "Spare me the lecture. I waited nine years for my brother. Now, if you can help me like you said you could, great. If not, don't waste my time."

"I'm doing my best," Logan replied.

Max turned and began walking toward the door, then stopped and turned back to face him. "Give me a call when you've got something."

^^^^^^^

Max walked out of Fogle Towers and stood next to her bike. Damn. Logan was hot. And with her feline condition….she was ready to put him in his bathtub, back him up against the wall, climb on top and…

No. She was mad at him. And anyway, it was never good to mix business with pleasure. Not even that kind of pleasure. Last call wasn't for another hour and hitting Crash again wasn't the worse idea.

She climbed on her bike and took off into the night.

^^^^^^

Max walked into Crash and over to the bar, finding Eric, the prospect from earlier, still sitting there.

"Well, well, well. Do my eyes deceive me or is this the woman of my dreams?" Eric asked.

"Don't talk. Just come," she responded, leading him out of the bar and to her bike.

A quick ride home later, they entered Max's apartment.

"Make yourself at home," she said as she headed into the bathroom.

In the bathroom, she stood at the sink, staring into the mirror. "Max, do you have any idea what you're doing? You're going to march out there right now and tell Eric you think it would be best if he went home. On second thought, you're not leaving this room. So what? Am I going to stay here all night? What do you know, anyway?"

Her personal argument over, she headed back into her bedroom.

Eric was sitting in bed, his back leaning up against the pillows that were next to the headboard. He smiled and gestured for her to sit on the bed next to him.

She crossed the room, stepping carefully around his wheelchair, which was placed next to her bed where he could reach it.

"I'm so glad you came back to find me," he said as she sat down next to him.  He lifted himself up from the bed and she helped move his legs as he lay down.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Take off my shoes," Eric directed.

She slipped them from his limp feet, then moved up and began to loosen his pants.

"I hope I can please you," he said.

"You already do," she responded. She leaned forward, her hands on his shoulders and pressed him back onto the pillow, kissing him harder…

Max looked up. Eric was passed out in her bed. He sighed and rolled over and began to snore.

Passed out. No wheelchair.

What the hell was going on with her?

The End


	4. Chapter 4

Here's another chapter.  We caught a break in our schedule and got one done sooner!  We hope you enjoy the next bit of our story and keep reading and reviewing!  We also accept e-mail at twosmartgirls@hotmail.com if you have any questions about the story.

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Max watched as Logan leaned forward in his chair to pull the last sheaf of papers off of his printer.  He had managed to put together a new identity for Hannah, the woman who had helped Max escape from Manticore.

"So, your boyfriend seems like a nice guy," Logan said.

"He's not my boyfriend," Max responded, looking sharply at Logan.  My god, why would he think that?  Especially if he knew about…

Max shook her head, trying to remove the vision of Eric in her bed.

"You don't want to talk about it...fine," Logan said, interrupting her self-cleansing.

"There's no reason for you to get jealous," Max snapped, more annoyed with herself than Logan.

"Of course there isn't. You and I don't have that kind of relationship," Logan countered.

No, of course they didn't.  She didn't do that with guys.  Guys were a means to an end.  But Logan…there was something different about him.  There was something different about the way she felt about him.  It was different than her usual non-heat attraction to a guy.  It was…visceral.

Maybe they needed to do something…have an experience.

"Have you ever been up on the Space Needle?" Max asked, fixing her eyes on Logan, seated in his chair in front of her.

"No, and it's not on my list of things to do," he answered.

"How come?"

"Actually, I've always been terrified of heights," he responded.

"Really?" she asked, a little surprised that he would admit to that weakness.  She expected him to use his condition as an excuse, but it would be easy for her to help him up there.

"Really," Logan answered.

"Oh, we're going to have to do something about that," Max replied.  She could see it now…carrying him up the steps, helping him out onto the roof of the needle…sitting up there looking over the entire city.  If they could overcome his inability to walk, they could certainly overcome his fear of heights…

"Well, gotta blaze," Max said, breaking the silence.  

"Have a good day, Max," Logan replied quietly.  

She smiled at him, and then left.

^^^^^

Max pushed open the door to the apartment and found Kendra in the living room painting her nails.

"So, will Eric be a recurring character in our lives?" she asked Max.

Max shrugged off her coat and hung it up.  "No, I'm sorry to say, he had to break up with me," Max answered seriously, then burst into laughter.  "Oh man, dodged a bullet on that one!"

"So, did you…hook up?" Kendra asked, curiosity filling her face.

Max crossed the room and sat down on a stool next to the kitchen counter.  She started to explain and then stopped, then shook her head.

"What happened?" Kendra asked.

"Well, I was in a bit of a mood…" Max began.

"Yes, that was apparent," Kendra answered.

"So I brought him back here, sent him to my bedroom, went to get ready and when I got in there…it was…well, weird…but the bottom line is, he was asleep, so no, nothing happened."

"Weird?  Like how?  Was he trying to do something kinky?" Kendra asked.

"No, it was just…I must have been a bit out of my mind."

"Spill, Max," Kendra responded.

Max got up and headed for the kitchen, opening the refrigerator and pouring herself a glass of milk.  "I had like…a vision…a hallucination."

"And it was?"

"This is too embarrassing," Max replied.

"You know... nothing you can dream up can compare to my situation.  I've done it all and seen it all... you can't faze me," Kendra answered.

Max looked over at her, still not sure she wanted to share.

"Can't even come close…I told you about the twins, the time in my dad's car when he was driving, at work…turnabout's fair play and heck, I might be able to help.  It may have happened to me."

"That's pretty unlikely," Max answered, "but, well, it's like he was Logan.  But he wasn't Logan.  But he had a chair.  But it was Eric."

"Logan…the guy in sector 9?" 

"Yeah."

"And a chair?  What do you mean by that?" Kendra asked.

"A wheelchair.  Like Logan's," Max answered.  "How messed up is that?  I mean, cause, we're not like that.  He's an associate.  We're not…"

"Logan's in a wheelchair?!?  I mean, what happened to him?  You never mentioned that," Kendra exclaimed.  "He was fine at Crash.  When did this…Geez, that's too bad.  He was so hot... I mean I guess he still is...it really wouldn't affect his ... tell me... what happened?"

"He had an accident.  It happened.  You know that guy that got shot up, that they showed on TV?  It was him."

"Oh," Kendra answered.  "And now you're fantasizing about him in his chair?"

"No, I didn't say that!" Max insisted.  "I just said that when I was with Eric, and he was in a wheelchair.  So, am I twisted?" Max asked.

"Nah, not twisted," Kendra answered.  "Preoccupied, perhaps, but I think you still have your head on straight."

^^^^^^

"I don't know about this, Max," Logan said, looking up at the Space Needle.

"It's important to face your fears, Logan," Max answered.  "And there's no rational reason to be afraid of heights."

"Maybe there isn't for genetically enhanced killing machines, but for us mere mortals, heights can be a big deal."  Logan wheeled his chair closer to the boarded-over door.  "Besides, I'm assuming the elevator doesn't work any longer."

"Not a problem," Max answered.

"Really?" Logan looked skeptical.

"I'll carry you," she said.

"Like hell you will."

Max laughed as Logan began to turn to go back to the car.  She liked it when he got feisty, when he fought against her or anyone else doing anything for him, even though she liked to help him.

"There are other ways," she told him.

Logan stopped and turned back to face her.  "Like what?"

"Didn't Bling teach you how to scoot up steps?" she asked.

"Yeah, but I don't think this is what he had in mind when he did," Logan answered.

Max led the way as she lifted the board off the door so Logan could wheel into the area that once served as the lobby of the Space Needle.  She moved easily to the steps.  Logan followed more slowly.

When they reached the steps, she watched as Logan lowered himself from the chair to the bottom step.  Her eyes locked on him as he pulled his limp legs from the footrests, tucking them alongside his body.  His limp legs fell over at the knees.  Logan pushed his arms down and swung his body slightly to the side, trying to straighten out his legs.

"This will be too slow," he said as he slowly lifted himself up to the next step and then scooted back.

Max leaned forward and picked up Logan's legs.  "Does that help?" 

Logan moved up another step and then paused to catch his breath.  "Yeah, a little bit, but it's probably better if I turn so I'm on my arms and then you hold my legs.  You know, like a wheelbarrow?"

"Yeah, I get that," Max replied.

She held Logan's legs as he swung around, now bracing himself on his hands.  They continued up the steps, slowly but surely.

^^^^^

Max pushed the door open and walked out onto the roof of the Space Needle.  The stars were bright and it would be a good time to sit, think and try to figure things out.

What the hell was going on with her?  Where were these feelings coming from?  And it wasn't getting any better.  If anything, the fantasies were coming more often.  It was getting hard to even be around Logan…because she was thinking about him all the time.

Max slowly sat down and pulled her knees up, wrapping her arms around her.  She'd figure it out.  She always did.  That's what made her a survivor.

To be continued…


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks much for all the reviews...we LOVE them!  And want more...let us know what you think.  Hope you enjoy this next chapter...

2SmrtGrls

^^^^^^

Max sat in the bathtub, soaking, trying to wash away the stress and strain of the day.  It had been hot, with lots of runs across the city for Jam Pony and well…she wasn't feeling that great.

She hadn't had any full-blown seizures, but they were there, just below the surface, threatening to break through at any minute.  She had picked up a new supply of Tryptophan that afternoon in Chinatown, but even the drug didn't seem to be taking the edge off this time.

Her beeper began to sound across the room.  Sighing, Max pulled herself from the warmth of the soapy water, grabbed a towel and reached for the beeper.

It was Logan.

Shit.  She hadn't talked to him for a couple of days.  Her thoughts were all jumbled and being around him made it even worse.  So, instead of facing it, she had just stayed as far from Logan Cale as she could…physically, emotionally and most importantly, in her mind.

But now he had beeped her.  She should go.  

Sighing once more, she pulled the towel tighter and headed to her bedroom to find something to wear.

^^^^^

Walking into Logan's apartment, Max could smell garlic and rosemary coming from the kitchen.

"You paged me?" she called as she walked down the hall.

"I thought you might want to join me for dinner," Logan answered as he wheeled out to greet her.

Max smiled.  "I don't want to put you to any trouble."

Logan shook his head, trying to look casual.  "Well, it's nothing fancy. Just one of my run-of-the-mill, spur-of-the-moment culinary miracles."

Max sank down on one of the kitchen chairs.  "I'm not real hungry. Feeling kind of punk."

"Ah...a glass of pre-pulse Tokay Pinot Gris'll cure what ails you," Logan responded as he wheeled back to the kitchen counter and reached for a wine glass.

Suddenly, the lights went out. 

"Now you have to stay because even you shouldn't be wandering around out there during a brownout," Logan said, his voice filled with concern.

Max didn't disagree.  "I've got a wicked headache as it is."  And she had no interest in trying to make her way back home both in the dark and with her head pounding.

As he poured the wine, Max took in the scene before her. 

The dinner table was perfect. He'd paid attention to every detail. The candles. Wine. Scent of culinary miracles. 

Gorgeous blue shirt. 

Gorgeous blue eyes. 

Wow, his eyes. It was a setting for seduction.  

Could this be for me?  Max wondered.  It couldn't be…they didn't have that kind of relationship. They weren't like that. 

But, if she wasn't feeling so punk…

Max shook the thought from her head.  What was she saying? 

It wasn't what it seemed like. It was just how Logan lived, he hadn't done anything special for Max. Like he said, it was run of the mill for him.

As they sat and shared their "where were you when the Pulse hit" memories, she found her eyes returning again and again to look at him, to drink him in, every inch of him.

He looked so fine, sitting there pouring the wine.  So elegant.  He was so relaxed this evening, without a care in the world.  It was like a glimmer of the Logan she first met, before, but different…more natural and not so arrogant now.  Very nice.

If only he could understand that the chair suited him. It added something to his well-put together package. A sensuality, unmatched.

A wave of uncertainty, the shaking moved over her once again.

"You okay?" Logan asked, reaching over to touch her arm.

Max shook her head.  "Like I said, I'm not feeling so hot."

"It's pretty bad this time, huh?" Logan asked, his voice filled with empathy, understanding what it was like to not feel in control of your body.

"Every once in a while, I hit a rough patch. Usually the Tryptophan helps, but...these seizures are much stronger than usual."  And, although she couldn't tell him, it scared her.  She didn't like not understanding what was going on with her body.

"Should I call a doctor?"  The empathy was gone now and genuine concern had taken over.

The shaking got worse as she explained that calling a doctor wouldn't help.  They moved into the living room where she laid down on the couch.

"What can I do?" Logan pleaded.

"Stay with me, please?" she asked, feeling more alone than she had in a long time.

Logan moved to sit next to her.  "I'm right here."

"You won't leave?"  Everyone had always left…or she'd left them first.  

"I'm not going anywhere," Logan replied as he took her in his arms.

^^^^^

When Max woke the next morning, she was still in Logan's arms.  Trying not to wake him, she slipped from his embrace.  The seizures seemed to have ended, but she felt very weak and unsteady.  

She stepped back from the couch and looked down at him.  She should wake him; he looked so uncomfortable.  She picked his feet up from the floor and moved them so they were resting on the couch.  As she attempted to roll him from his side to his back, he moaned slightly, then woke up.

"Hey," he grunted.

"Hey," she answered in kind.  "You didn't look like you were too comfortable there."

Logan blinked his eyes a couple more times, then using his arms, shifted his body so he was sitting up on the couch.  "Maybe just a little crick in my neck, but no big deal."

"Thanks," Max said, quietly.

"Not a problem," Logan answered. 

"I should get home…"

"I should get dressed…"

Their words tumbled over one another and then they fell into an uncomfortable silence.

"Well," Logan finally said, reaching for his chair so he could transfer into it.

"Yeah," Max responded.

"You sure you're okay?" Logan asked as Max began walking toward the door.

"Good to go," Max replied, and then left the apartment.

^^^^^

Max pulled her bike up in front of the boarded up high-rise she called home.  She literally crawled off the bike, her body still weak and jerking from residual seizures.  She just wanted to climb back into bed.  Normal was going to have to take a pound out of her ass another day…there was no way she was making it into work feeling this punk.

As she climbed the steps, she smiled, remembering waking up in Logan's arms.  And who knows, if she didn't have this defective body, things could have been very different.

^^^^^^

"Now you have to stay because even you shouldn't be wandering around out there during a brownout," Logan said, as he lit the candles on the table and filled the wine glasses.

"Can you serve a Logan Cale masterpiece without the power on?" Max teased.

"Oh, Logan Cale can do just about anything," he replied, as he popped a wheelie in his chair and spun so he was in front of the cupboard door.  "That is what the…" Logan reached into the cupboard and pulled out a small metal box with a grate on top, "Hibachi is for…nights without power."

Max sat sipping her wine as Logan lit the charcoal in the small grill and began to lay two perfectly marinated steaks on the grate.

"So, what were you doing when the pulse hit?" Max asked as she took another sip of her wine.

Logan leaned forward, bracing himself with his left hand as he flipped the steaks with his right.

"On my uncle's yacht motoring into Friday Harbor on Orca's Island with a lady friend."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Max asked, laughing.

"I knew the end of the world was coming when the Sat-Nav crashed and, uh, we ran aground."

She looked over at him and smiled.  They had definitely come from different lives.

"I think these are done, just give me a minute and I'll have dinner served."

Max watched as he wheeled back over to the counter area and began pulling flatware from the drawer.  He opened a lower cupboard.

"Damn," he swore.

"What?" she asked, starting to get up.  "You lose something?"

"No, I just haven't grilled since…well…"  Logan finished his sentence by pointing to his now motionless legs.

"Oh," Max replied, not sure what the chair and grilling had to do with anything.  "So that matters why?"

Logan pointed to an upper cupboard.  "Platter's up there."

Max moved to stand, but Logan interrupted her.

"No, I'll get it."

He moved over to the corner and lined his chair up with the counter, as close as he could get. After locking the brakes on his chair, he placed on hand on the counter and the other on the edge of the seat.  He pressed down and straightened his arms, raising his body until he cleared the counter, swinging his body slightly until he was sitting on it. 

"Have you been holding out on me?" Max teased.

Logan looked down smiling at her, clearly pleased with himself.  "Little trick Bling taught me last week.  Clearly it was just in time."  He pulled a platter from the cupboard and set it down next to his hip.  Then he reversed the process, landed back in his chair, straightened his legs, grabbed the platter and returned to the table.

"Dinner is served."

^^^^^

Finishing the delicious steaks Logan had prepared, the conversation paused.  Max looked over at Logan, who was so relaxed and clearly very pleased with himself.  Cooking must have also been on the list of therapy activities from the week before, and he had acquitted himself quite successfully.

"You want coffee and dessert?  Or shall we go watch a movie and snuggle?" Logan asked.

Hmmm…coffee was hard to come by and hard to resist, but Logan hadn't wanted to get physical before.  Maybe that had been on the schedule as well…

But they weren't like that.  Although…maybe she *did* want to be like that.  

Max watched as Logan carried the dishes back to the counter, rinsed them and put them in the dishwasher.  It was so easy how he slipped under the kitchen sink with his chair and could reach whatever he needed.  It was like nothing had changed…

"Care to go into the living room?" Logan asked.

Max followed as Logan led her into the other room.  Outside the city was dark.  She sat down on the couch while he lit two candles on the coffee table.  Once the candles were lit, he wheeled over to the couch, then easily slid from his chair to the couch next to Max.

"It's really pretty," Max said as the candlelight twinkled against the glass and the walls of the living room.

"You're pretty," Logan responded.  He reached over and brushed his right hand through her hair.  "No, not pretty, beautiful."

"This isn't some scheme to check out more of my body, is it?" Max teased.

Logan laughed.  "No, but I'd be happy to see anything you want to share."

Max dropped her eyes, suddenly shy.

Logan shifted on the couch to move even closer to her.  His fingers moved down her face to trace her jaw.  Then he leaned forward and began to kiss her.

Max responded, moving closer to Logan, her right arm slipping behind his body.

Logan's hand moved again, now on the back of her head, pulling her closer...

^^^^^

Reaching her door, Max could hear Kendra talking to the "landlord", Walter, a cop on the take.  The rent.  It wasn't there.

Today everything in her life felt harder than usual.  Like it must for Logan.  If only things were easier.  But this was reality.  She couldn't hide in her fantasies forever.

But she liked the fantasy.

And what did that mean? 

To be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks much for the reviews.  We'd love to hear from everyone who is reading…and if you aren't reading…why not!??!  And as for the reviews, some of you are definitely starting to get the story.  So stay tuned and see how it turns out…

2Smrtgrls

^^^^^^^

Max looked around the living room, glad to be back in her own apartment, only a few steps away from her own bed.  She smiled as she looked over where Kendra and Original Cindy sat.  She had been pissed at them for getting rid of her tryptophan, but it was a sign of how much they cared about her that they had been so worried.

And everything had worked out fine.

"So Max, Original Cindy and I have been talking it over," Kendra said.

"Mm-hmm. Trouble follows you around like the tail on a dog. We're getting the vibe there's something going on that you don't want us to know about for some reason," Original Cindy added.

"'Cause maybe you think we can't handle it?"

Original Cindy locked eyes on Max.  "But we can, 'cause we down like that."

Max looked away, unsure about what she should share with them.  "I don't know what you guys are talking about."

As Kendra and Original Cindy continued to press her, she decided to just tell the truth. 

"What if I told you I was a genetically revved-up female?"

Kendra and Original Cindy laughed.

"Like we're not," Kendra responded.

"But...I'm a different kind of female altogether," Max protested.

"Like you so special. Okay, fine, don't tell us, but whatever's going on just know...you still my boo," Original Cindy answered.

"Yeah. Me and sister girl got your back," Kendra said.

Max nodded, decided to just drop it.  It was clear they weren't ready to handle the truth about Manticore.

"But, I do want to know one more thing, revved up girl," Kendra said.

"What?"

"What is up with you and Logan?" Kendra asked.

"Nothing," Max said, her voice clipped.

Original Cindy and Kendra shared a look.

"Damn, I'm not into men, but I know when someone's got somethin' goin' on and you girl…you got somethin' goin' on for him," Original Cindy said.

"Yeah, maybe, I mean…I don't know."

"What do you mean, 'you don't know'?" Kendra asked.  "Either you're hot for him, or you aren't."

Max got up and walked into the kitchen.  She opened the refrigerator and got out the gallon of milk.  When she turned back to fill her glass, Kendra and Original Cindy were standing there watching her.

"What?" Max asked.

Original Cindy and Kendra continued standing there, a smile on each of their faces.

"No, seriously, what?"

"Don't you want to tell Original Cindy about how Logan has been invading your every thought?" Kendra asked.

Max shot her a quick look.  "Have we no secrets?"

"I didn't tell her anything," Kendra answered.

Max stalked past the two women and plopped down on the couch in the living room.

"So, we talkin' dreams, fantasies?  What's up?" Original Cindy asked as she joined Max in the living room.  "Or have you just been doodlin' 'Mrs. Logan Cale' on all of your notebooks?"

Max laughed.  "No, never really saw myself as a Mrs. Anybody."

"So, then, what's the dealio?" Original Cindy asked.

Max turned her face and stared out the window.   After a moment, she turned back to face her friends.  "Yeah, I'm thinking about him, but it's different…I mean, I've been attracted to guys…"

"Yeah, like Eric?" Kendra teased.  "He was a winner, Max."

Max chuckled.  "Yeah, like Eric.  But Logan…Logan's different.  It's like…I don't know…"

"Spit it out, sistah.  Man, I've never heard you strugglin' to get words out like this!" Original Cindy exclaimed.

Max took a deep breath and then began.  "Okay, this is really weird, but there's something about him, about how he looks, how he moves…it just does something to me."

"I hear you on that, boo.  Original Cindy has had the hots for sistahs cause of how they hit the floor."

"It's not that," Max answered.  "It's…well, I don't know for sure…but I think it's the chair."

Original Cindy raised her eyebrows.  "Seriously?"  She turned to look at Kendra,  "she tell you this before?"

Kendra nodded.

"Damn, boo, that's whack."

Max stood up and walked over to the window, staring out over the city.  Original Cindy walked over and put her arm on Max's shoulder.

"What you goin' to do?" she asked quietly.

Max turned to face her.  "That's just the thing.  I don't know.  I mean, we're working together and these thoughts are going through my head and I can't seem to stop them.  But, I can't act on them.  No way.  That's just…it's just wrong."

"Why?" Kendra asked, coming over to join them.  "I don't see what the issue is here."

"It feels bad," Max said.  "It feels like I'm taking advantage of him or something."

"I don't know about that," Kendra replied.  "I've seen the guy.  He's hot, sitting or standing."

Original Cindy nodded.  "You know I ain't into that scene, but I agree with Kendra here, he's damn fine."

"So maybe you just need to relax, Max," Kendra said.  "Maybe the chair is a bigger deal than you want to think and that's what the problem is."

"But, it isn't…I mean, it is, but it's not like…" Max protested.

Max was interrupted by her pager going off.

"Crap, it's him," Max said as she looked at the display.  "I gotta blaze."

"Keep the faith, boo," Original Cindy said as Max turned to leave the apartment.

"Thanks," Max answered and then headed out the door.

^^^^^^^^

Maybe it was just Logan being different.  But that had never mattered to her before.  Being a transgenic, you got used to appreciating the differences in other people.  Why would it make any big deal that Logan used a wheelchair.  That half of his body didn't work like it used to.  What was the big deal, anyway?

Max raised her hand to knock when the door swung open.

"Hey," she said as Logan moved back so she could enter.

"Sorry, I saw you on the camera coming in, so thought I would…"

"Slow down, Logan, take a breath," Max said, as she walked past him into the apartment.  "Somethin' on fire here?"

Logan laughed and followed her down the hall.  "No, nothing like that.  Sorry, I guess I just get worked up sometimes."

"So, you rang?" Max asked, as she casually dropped down on the couch.

"Yeah," Logan answered.  He wheeled across the living room and stopped in front of the coffee table, setting the brake on his wheelchair.  "I got a pretty interesting message tonight, a blast from the past, if you will."

"Old girlfriend?" Max asked, trying to keep her voice casual.

Logan chuckled and shook his head.  "No, a daughter of an old friend.  Someone who died a few years ago."

"Ah…so, is she hot for you?" Max asked.

Logan shrugged.  "Don't know.  All she's seen of me are my eyes…she only knows me as Eyes Only."

"And I come in where?" Max asked.

Logan leaned forward and picked up a folder.  He handed it to Max.  

"I need you to figure out if she's legit.  Find out who she knows, where she hangs out…if there's any reason for me to not respond to her request."

Max picked up the folder and leafed through it.  When she looked up, Logan was leaning forward, his head resting in his right hand, his glasses in his left.

"Headache?" she asked.

Logan sighed, lifted his head, put his glasses on and smiled at her.  "No, it's just…"  His voice trailed off.

"What?"

Logan released the brake on his chair and wheeled back about a foot.  "It's just that this is the kind of stuff that I used to do.  And now I need you.  And I used to be able to meet with an informant anywhere and now I have to send Bling to check out the accessibility.  And I'm not subtle…there's nothing subtle about this chair.  Everyone stares.  Everyone notices."

"I'm sure it's not as bad as you think," Max replied.

Logan snorted lightly.  "You might be surprised.  Yesterday, Bling and I were in the park.  I saw this guy watching me.  I mean, I could tell he was staring at me because every time I looked over, I caught him and then he'd look away.  Anyway, so Bling had brought a new chair for me to try, one that I could use for basketball.  But he had to change the casters because…I don't know…anyway I was waiting on a bench for him to come back and that guy came over and sat across from me.  And it was like I could tell that he was getting a charge just out of watching me.  And it just made me feel so…so…I don't know, like I was a freak or something."  Logan's head dropped down, his eyes staring down at his legs.

Max got up and walked over in front of him and sat down on the edge of the coffee table.  She took his hands in hers and waited until he looked up at her.

"You're not the freak.  That guy…he was the freak, Logan."

Logan nodded, and then smiled lightly at her.

Max stood up.  "Let me check out this Alina chick.  I'll get back to you as soon as possible.  And until then, fight the good fight and don't waste your time on messed up jerks like that guy."

She picked up the folder of information and headed for the door.

"Max?"

She stopped and turned back.

"Thanks for understanding.  Thanks for not…well…for treating me like nothing's different."

Max gave him a quick nod and headed for the door.

^^^^^^^^

Max stepped out onto the Space Needle, the packet of info from Logan still clutched in her hands.  She stood looking over the city, its lights twinkling as far as she could see.

That guy really messed with Logan's head.  But what would Logan think if he knew what was going on in mine?  How am I any different?  I mean, I value him as a friend, but the attraction…would I feel this way if things hadn't changed?

Is it the chair or is it that he needs me?  Nobody's needed me for a very long time.  Maybe that's what I'm missing.

Or maybe I am just a freak.

To Be Continued…


	7. Chapter 7

Wow...chapter 7. Thanks for the reviews so far and we'd love to hear from any and all of you who are reading. This isn't your traditional DA story...it's a bit more AU, but keep your mind open and your imagination free...

The Girls

^^^^^^^^  
Max stood in the street looking up at Logan's apartment. It had been a hard week for both of them. Life had seemed to turn sideways when her Ninja got snatched up and what followedwell, it was like a Greek tragedy with ex-wives on the take, brothers showing up and disappearing, deatheven Herbal being fired and rehired seemed to be part of the elaborate tapestry of crap that had fallen down on her head in the past few days. 

But Bling had asked her to come over, asked her to be there for Logan. That had to mean something, didn't it?

Question was, would she help him if she went up there? And why was she going up therewas it because she had caused his pain to begin with by telling him about Valerie's deceit? Was it because she wanted to help himno, _needed_ to help him? Or maybe, was it because she was his friend?

^^^^^^^  
Max got off the elevator and headed for Logan's door. She rang the bell and waited. It was quiet inside, but she'd seen his lights on from downstairs, so he was definitely home.

There was a crack of lightning and an accompanying roll of thunder. Max quickly jimmied the lock and slipped into the apartment.

"Doorbell's broken," she said as she walked into the living room where Logan sat.  
  
He looked up at her, his face blank. "No. I was just ignoring it."

She crossed the room to the sofa and sat down. She turned to face him, slipping him a small smile. "So, do you hate me now?"

"Oh, I was pissed off at you for ten minutes maybe. You know... kill the messenger," Logan answered.

"Or in this case, the nosy messenger... rooting around in stuff that's none of her business," Max apologized.

"First time Val played me, ended our marriage and it was shame on her. This time, it's shame on me. Well, at least she's sober. Now, she's really got to live with herself. The truth is, it's more embarrassing than anything else. Having to face the fact that I keep wanting to believe in something that was never there in the first place," Logan admitted quietly. He turned away from Max and wheeled over to the window.

"I know the feeling. Hooked up with Zack."

Logan turned back to face her, a look of surprise on his face. "Sounds like it didn't turn out the way you wanted."

"After all these years of waiting and wondering I guess I expected-- I don't know...that finding Zack would change everything. My life would finally make sense. Pretty stupid of me, huh? I just wanted somebody that was like me. Someone I can connect with."

"Basic human impulse-- not wanting to be alone," Logan answered, his voice serious.

"According to Zack, it's phony sentimentality. We're soldiers. This is enemy territory. We're constantly on the move. That's one way to live your life. I just don't know if I want to do that anymore. But maybe he's right. Maybe I don't have a choice," Max responded, resigned.

The room filled with light as lightning crossed the sky again.

"There's some food in the kitchen if you're hungry," Logan offered, pointing toward the kitchen.

"Not really."

"Me neither. What time is it?" Logan asked.

"Late," Max answered.

"You can crash here if you want. In the guest room," Logan jerked his head, indicating the therapy room.

"Not tired," Max answered. That was a guest room?

"Me neither. Feel like going for a spin in the park?" he asked.

"It's raining."

"I don't mind."

"Me neither."

^^^^^^^^  
Max followed Logan out of the building and onto the sidewalk. He had slipped a blue rain jacket on and pulled up the hood once they got outside. It made it hard to talk to him, so Max simply followed him.

He looked good. Damned good and so carefree. It was like their lives had gotten to a point that was so depressing that they needed to just forget what had happened and take a break.

She needed a break. 

Max followed Logan down the street to the corner where he wheeled down the curb cut and then across the street to the entrance to the park. She waited as Logan stopped at the curb and seemed to throw himself back in the chair with his hands gripping the wheels of this chair.

"Shit!" she heard him exclaim. He pivoted the chair and faced her.

"Still can't get up these stupid things," he said, looking frustrated.

Max smiled. "No problem." She grabbed the back of his chair and popped the wheels up over the edge of the curb.

Logan shot her a look, wanting to be mad.

"Hey, don't shoot the messenger. You just need to keep working on it. Let's go."

Logan didn't respond, but instead followed her into the park. The rain had now slowed to a slight sprinkle and he pushed the hood back off his head.

"So, you want to race?" Max asked, challenging him with a wink.

"I was thinking puddle jumping, actually," Logan returned as he sped past her in his chair. Max ran to catch up as Logan spun his wheels in a puddle and sprayed her with rain water.

"Not fair!" Max exclaimed as she brushed the water from her face.

"Hey, life ain't fair, Maxie," Logan answered as he laughed at her.

"Careful, I could hurt you, Logan Cale," she responded, lightly punching his shoulder.

"You might want to know that I've been working out, lifting weights."

"Ooh, I'm scared," Max said as she danced out of Logan's reach.

"Better beI'm a mean, wild, wheelchair fighting machine."

Max stopped and looked at him. "We're a pair, aren't we?"

Logan nodded. "Yeah, strangely suited for one another."

They were quiet for a moment, then Logan broke the silence.

"So, hot chocolate? Ice cream? Shower?"

"For two?" Max teased.

"I don't mind sharing my hot water," Logan responded.

Max stared at him and then laughed. "I meant hot chocolate for two."

Logan nodded. "I see," then spun his wheels to head toward home. "But I'm getting in the shower first."

Max stood there for a moment, considering her options, then ran to catch up. 

^^^^^^^  
When Max got to the Towers, Logan had already gone up the elevator. She waited for a moment, then headed for the steps. By the time she reached the penthouse, he had gone in, leaving the front door open for her.

As she walked into the apartment and closed the door, she could hear the shower running in Logan's bathroom.

It was now or never. She walked down the hallway, dropping pieces of her wet, muddy clothing with each step. By the time she reached his bedroom, she was naked.

She paused at the door, but it was open. As she walked in, she saw where Logan had dropped his own wet, muddy things. His chair sat empty next to the shower stall. She stood there for a moment, not sure what to do.

"You waiting for an engraved invitation?" his voice came from behind the shower door.

Max smiled and reached for the door. As she opened it, a cloud of steam came out and filled the bathroom around her.

"Get in here, it's cold out there," Logan ordered.

She stepped into the shower and the hot water immediately began beating down on her back, across her breasts and down her body. She looked down where Logan sat on a bench built into the shower.

"Plenty big enough for two, don't you think?" he asked.

Max nodded.

Logan handed her a bar of soap and a cloth. She worked the soap into the cloth and then began washing herself. She rubbed the cloth down her arms, then along her legs and finally up her body and around her neck.

When she finished, she looked down to see that Logan's legs were still muddy from their adventure. She began to work the soap into the cloth again and this time, reached for his leg instead of her own.

She picked his right leg up and braced it against the inside of her thigh. With the cloth, she moved up and down the slender limb, rubbing against the muscles that no longer worked under his control. His thigh twitched slightly and she tightened her grip to keep it in place.

When she finished with the right leg, she switched and began working on the left. With the cloth filled with soap, she washed his foot, noting how smooth and soft it was.

Setting his foot back down, she moved so she was standing with her legs on either side of his. She moved closer until her knees were touching the bench, then bracing her hands on the wall behind him, moved even closer until she was up against his body

^^^^^^^  
The car honked as it whizzed past her, missing her by mere inches.

"Max?" Logan called to her.

"Fine. I'm fine," she responded and then followed him inside to get rid of their muddy clothes and share some hot chocolate.

To be continued  



	8. Chapter 8

Here's a little bit longer chapter for your pleasure.  We hope you enjoy it.  Please read and review.

^^^^^^

She reached and reached, until finally her hand grasped Logan's.  Tightening her grip on his, they flew through the air.  She pulled up until he was clinging to her, and his arms, strengthened by the months of rehab, were tight around her waist.  She raised her leg in front of them and they crashed through the window and onto the bed.

"You all right?" she asked.

"You okay?" Logan replied, their words tumbling over one another.

She stared down at his face, his body trapped beneath hers on the bed.  "What are you doing here?"

"I was going to ask you the same question. I went to a lot of trouble to get you released," Logan replied.  "You should be thanking me."

"Thanking you?  You'd be thrown off the roof if it wasn't for me!"

Max started to get up, but Logan pulled the rope around her waist, yanking her back down on top of him.

"Hey!" she exclaimed.

"Come here," he replied, taking his free hand and moving it around the back of her head, pulling her close to him until their lips touched.  

As they continued to kiss, Logan moved his hand from the rope and slid it around her back, pulling her even closer.

Max broke away from the kiss.  "I should go save the kid."

Logan shook his head.  "Nah, I think you should save me some more."  He rolled Max to his side and moved to position himself so they were facing one another.  "I see this as one of those moments.  One of those times when the universe is right on course."

Quieting her feeble protests, he began to kiss her again.  This time she eagerly responded, allowing him to explore further.

^^^^^^

The sound of the smoke detector woke Max up.  Man, they needed to get that thing fixed, but in the condemned building she lived in, the super was never comin' back to fix anything.

She'd had the dream again.  Which made her wonder, but it was better than the other dream.  Better than the dream that had her waking up screaming.  The dream where she reached out for Logan and he wasn't there…he was falling through the air faster than she could possibly reach him and then…he was gone.

This was a much better dream.  She sighed and rolled over.  It was humid, too hot for a Seattle summer.  Sleep would not come easily tonight.

^^^^^

The next day dawned bright and early.  Even though she didn't need as much sleep as your run of the mill human being, Max felt lethargic from her restless night of sleep.  Work had been long and incredibly dull with the sound of Normal's voice pounding like a jackhammer in her head.

She considered heading home, but instead found herself turning her bike toward Fogle Towers…toward Logan.

She stashed her bicycle outside and headed up to his apartment.  The instant she walked into the building, the coolness surrounded her and seemed to almost instantly relax her.  The ride up the elevator went quickly.  She let herself into Logan's apartment, already feeling a thousand times better than she had that morning.

"Hey," she called out as she walked into Logan's office.  He was seated in the desk chair in front of the computer.

Logan turned to look at her, pushing the chair slightly away from the desk.  "Hey, yourself. Ordering myself another wheelchair. Looking for one with the jet thrusters," he teased.

Max laughed.  "Thanks for bailing the gals out of there yesterday...myself included."

She smiled as he thanked her for saving him.  Sassy response she thought to herself.  Can't let him know about the dreams.  Either one.

The discussion turned serious as Logan asked her about Lydecker.  Maybe that was what had her so out of sorts all day long…maybe it wasn't the dive of the hotel after all.  It was so hard to keep track of the drama…

And why had she let him go?  Well, it was true; she did need to find out what Lydecker knew about her and the rest of the kids at Manticore.  'Cause they weren't kids anymore and if something was going to go wrong with them, she wanted to know what it might be and Lydecker might be the only person who could tell her.

"Fact is, you saved a man's life," Logan said, trying to reassure her about her decision.

"A bad man."

"It's still a good thing," replied Logan.

"I'm not so sure. But you know what really bums my ass out? I had a chance to swipe some towels from the hotel, and I totally spaced it," Max retorted.

"Next time," Logan said.

"Yeah. Next time," she answered.

"Or I have another idea," Logan responded as he pushed himself back from the computer desk.  She watched as he reached down and pulled his feet so they were back underneath him again.

"What's that?" Max asked.

"Stay here, have a shower, use my nice, better than hotel towels.  I'll order something in, we can have a nice bottle of wine…"

"Order in?  I don't get a Cale masterpiece?" Max teased.

Logan smiled, then indicated the desk chair.  "It's a little hard to get around in this thing.  Actually, Bling stayed with me all day to help me, you know…get around. Said he'd stay the night if he had to.  Hopefully we can get the replacement chair pretty soon.  I just sent him over to check out the warehouse in Sector 5.  It sounded like they had a few acceptable models in stock."

"But what happened to…"  Max's voice trailed off as she stuck her head out of the office and looked down the hall toward the therapy room.

"Happened to what?" Logan asked.

"This wasn't the chair you had before.  You had the one with the little wheels on the back?  Where is it?  Why aren't you using that one?"

Logan nodded.  "Yeah, this was my third one, actually.  But I gave the other ones away.  Bling knows a lot of guys who need a decent chair, so it seemed selfish to keep a stash of them in storage.  Besides, I don't need the little wheels in back anymore…or at least I didn't think I did…"

Max paused at the door.  She had been ready to head for the shower and those "nicer than hotel" towels, but she stopped.  "What do you mean?  What are they for?"

Logan laughed.  "Well, I was going to keep this my little secret, but after last night's flight…well…I might as well share.  The little wheels, they're called "anti-tippers."  They're like training wheels on your chair, when you first get it…stops you from falling over backward, if your weight shifts wrong.  Anyway, I was rushing around the other day, trying to finish things up for an Eyes Only broadcast and I forgot one of the foundations of physics."

"Which was?"

"Entropy," Logan answered.

"An object in motion tends to remain in motion," Max answered.

"So I was going one way, then another and well…suddenly I was flat on my back."

Max tried to stifle her concern.  "And this was okay?"

"Well, yeah, I mean it was something I learned pretty quickly off the bat in rehab…you have to know how to get back in your chair, but this was a bit more…um…well, stressful…embarrassing…well, potentially…"

Max started laughing as Logan kept stumbling over his words.  "So, you're saying you got caught."

"Almost."

Max stood for a moment, thinking.  "Oh man…I thought something was up that day.  You were…well, you were pissy, like you said."

"Yes, I accept it.  Fact is, I hate showing weakness to a revved up girl.  I'm working with several world-renowned internet therapists to try to recover from the condition, but until then…well, I'll just have to pretend that I'm perfect."

"Whatever, I'm taking that shower now."

"I'll be here," Logan replied.  "Unless I'm lying on the floor."

Max chuckled and waved goodbye as she headed for Logan's bathroom and his unending supply of hot water.

^^^^^^^

"Hi," Max said as she walked in the room.  

Logan looked up at her, his face slightly flushed, his clothing askew and his feet sticking awkwardly out on the floor.  He quickly grabbed his right leg and draped it over his left.

"Hi," he responded.

"Hard of hearing or somethin'?" she asked, taking another step closer.  She stopped and stared at him, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Actually, one of my faculties that's still intact. I was just thinking," he replied.

"Oh."  She didn't buy it for a minute.

"You have that 'Logan, I need a favor' look on your face," he said.

Max didn't answer, but nodded instead.  She walked up closer still until she was standing right in front of him.  

"Don't I always? I mean, isn't that the only reason why I come around?" she asked, as she leaned over and slipped his feet back onto the foot rest.  "Question is, what favor do you need?"

Slipping her hands up on his shoulders, she began to swing her right leg over his as his eyes remained locked on hers…

WHUMP 

Max and Logan lie there silent for a moment, Logan trapped under Max, the chair underneath him.

"You all right?"

"You okay?"

They both started laughing.

"You try that move on all the girls?" Max asked, as she looked down at Logan.

"Me…what did I do?  You're the one who flipped me over," Logan responded in protest.  

Max hopped up, and offered her hand to Logan, but he shook his head.  

"No, I can do it," he replied.

She stepped back a step and watched as he flipped the chair back over, arranged the cushion in the seat and then with some ease, lifted himself back into the wheelchair.

"You're good at that," she said, smiling at him.

"All the kids know at least one good parlor trick," he replied.  "Yours is flying between buildings on a rip cord.  Mine is picking myself up off the floor."

"But I like it," Max replied, arching her right eyebrow at him.  "Show me again how you do that trick."  

Before Logan could react, she stepped up and flipped him back down again.  "But this time, you're going to have to pay me in kisses before I let you up…"

^^^^^^^

As Max walked out of Logan's bedroom she could hear him on the phone.

"Everything okay?" she asked as she entered his office.

Logan's eyes moved up and down, taking in the towel wrapped around her head and the second one wrapped around her body.

"How are the towels?" he asked.

"You better check my luggage when I leave," Max replied.  "I couldn't bear to take them off right away."

"Not a problem and I won't hold it against your share of the take if you do swipe a couple when you go…even clean ones."

"So, who was on the phone?" Max asked as she crossed the room and leaned against the desk next to where Logan sat.

"Concierge.  The Thai noodles I ordered were delivered.  He's going to bring them up."

Max nodded.  "And Bling?  What's the word from him?"

"Good news and bad.  They had the chair we're looking for, but it was a busted caster, so he's driving to Bellingham to get a replacement."

"So he's not going to be back tonight," Max replied.

"Oh, I'm sure he will," Logan answered.

"Not with the way sector police have been lately," she replied.  "He's lucky to be back here by maybe three or four tomorrow morning."

"It's not a big deal," Logan answered.  "I've got plenty of work to do here."  He moved his hands over the width of the desk to indicate the amount of work he had left.

"I'll stay," Max replied.

"Not necessary."

"Don't mind."

"Whatever."

"I'm getting dressed."

"Fine."

When Max returned, dressed in a t-shirt and a pair of Logan's work-out pants, the waist cinched tight and the pant legs rolled up, the food was sitting in brown bags on Logan's desk.

"You want to eat in here?" she asked.

Logan looked up from the computer screen.  "Cute outfit."

"Thanks.  I hate putting dirty clothes on a clean body," she replied.

"I suppose we'll have to stay here," Logan sighed.

A small frown crossed Max's face.  "No, we don't have to, I can help you.  Living room or dining room?" she asked.

"Living room," Logan finally answered.  "Okay, grab the back of the chair and then pull me backwards.  And slowly."

Max did as instructed and slowly eased the chair from the office into the living room.  She stopped next to the couch.  "You really should get out of that chair if you've been sitting in it all day."

Max came around in front of the chair, putting her foot behind one of the wheels so the chair wouldn't move.  "Here," she said, standing in front of him.

Logan placed his hands on her shoulders and pulled himself into a standing position, then they swung as a unit so that he was over the couch.  Max carefully leaned forward, slowly lowering him to the cushion.

"Thanks," Logan answered.

Max was already headed back to the office.  She stopped and turned.  "You want wine with these noodles?"

^^^^^^^^^

"So Sketchy tells the new kid that he can pop the wheelie and bounce the bike back out of the garage," Max said as she finished the last of her wine.

"And?" Logan asked as he stacked her plate on top of his.

"Well, Normal had stepped back into his private office, as he likes to say, and so Sketchy goes for it...bets the kid two runs to Sector 2 if he does it...so he gets on the bike..."

"I thought you weren't supposed to ride in there," Logan interjected.

"Major pet peeve of Normal's," Max said, and then continued, "so he gets on the bike, pops up into the wheelie, starts his first hop and Normal returns from his 'break.'"

"Oh man..."

"Yep, Sketchy flips over, the new kid on top of him, his bag flies off, packages everywhere..."  Max suddenly stopped.

Logan started laughing.

"Oh, man, Logan, I'm sorry...it's probably...you had to be..."

"No, seriously funny, Max.  Good to know I'm not the only one," Logan finished.  "So, what happened?"

"I think Sketchy was there until midnight sorting the packages again, getting them delivered.  Normal showed *no* mercy."

Logan kept chuckling.  "I'd have loved to see it."

"It was a sight," Max added.  "So, you okay here?  You want to get to bed?"

Logan shook his head.  "No, this is great.  You want to put on some music?  There's a bunch of CDs over by the stereo."

Max got up and went over to peruse Logan's collection.  After a few minutes a slow jazz instrumental came on.

"Very nice," Logan said as Max came to sit down next to him.  He slid his arm up along the top of the couch and she scooted in next to him.

"So, were you scared?" Max asked after a moment.

Logan looked over at her.  "At the hotel?  On the roof?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

They were silent again for a few moments.

"I was too," Max finally said.  She turned slightly on the couch so she was facing him.  "What if I hadn't caught you?  What if you had fallen loose?"

Logan locked his eyes on her.  "We can spend our whole life wondering about 'what ifs' but I don't think it'll change anything in the end."

He leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips.  "What if you had stayed that first time you came back to the penthouse?  What if we had become lovers?  What ifs could fill all of our thoughts, rather than what I'm thinking right now."

"Which is?"

"That I like you in my t-shirt and pants," Logan answered.  "And that sometime, I might like to see you out of them."

Max continued to hold his gaze.  "Yeah, what if I had come in the front door instead of through the roof?  What if I had helped you the first time you asked..."

Logan cut her off.  "Don't go there, Max.  There's no sense."  He pushed back the piece of hair that had fallen forward on her face.  "What if I kissed you again?"

"What if."

Logan leaned forward, this time taking her more passionately, more deeply.  She quickly received him, his movements tender but still urgent, betraying the intensity of the conversation.  His right hand moved to her shoulder, then down her arm where her soft skin emerged from his shirt.  He continued to explore her with his right hand, while bracing himself with his left.

Max moved closer, then slid her left leg over his so she was facing him.  She pressed him back into the couch, now making her own exploration of his body.  Her kisses moved from his lips to his neck.  After a few moments she stopped.

"What?" Logan asked.

Max pinched her arm, hard, leaving a mark on the skin.  "Just wanted to make sure it was real."

To be continued...


	9. Chapter 9

Hope you all enjoy this one.  Thanks for all the reviews!!

__________________________

Max rolled over, and looked out the window.  The night before had seemed like another one of her fantasies, but now, she knew that it had all really happened.  She and Logan had taken it to another level.  It had surprised her…but it felt right.

Very right.

The apartment was quiet.  Logan had insisted she go home after Bling got back from Bellingham at four in the morning.  She had crashed as soon as she got back to her apartment and slept for an astonishing six hours.

Max slipped from her bed and quickly pulled some clothes on.  She should go to work, but instead she felt drawn to head back to Logan's apartment…to affirm what had happened, to show him that she was okay with it.  

She needed to make sure that it was real.

^^^^^^^^

The front door of Logan's apartment swung open.  She looked in and smiled.

"Nice chair."

Logan moved back slightly so she could walk into the apartment.  "Thanks.  I like it."  He smoothly pivoted to show off the shiny chrome and metal of the new chair.

"You must have gotten home okay," Logan said as he headed toward the kitchen.

"Yeah, it was fine," Max answered, trailing behind him.  "So, did Bling do a good job with the selection?"

Logan grabbed a plate of muffins from the kitchen counter and set them on the table.  "Yeah, I was lucky this time.  It's getting harder to get good chairs around here, especially on short notice.  He did say he saw most of the parts for an iBot there, though."

"iBot?  What's that?" Max asked, picking up a muffin.

"Chair that came out about fifteen or twenty years ago.  It used a gyroscope for balance and had six wheels on it.  You could go to a standing position or it would even crawl up stairs."

Max made a face of distaste.  "Doesn't sound like it would have much sex appeal."

Logan laughed.  "You worried about my chair looking sexy?"

"Hey, don't want my meal ticket lookin' like a robot," Max shot back.

Logan smiled at her.  "Thanks.  But chair aside, you think I'm sexy?"

Max stopped eating her muffin and looked at him.  She needed to determine if he was teasing or having a crisis of self-confidence.  The smile snaking across his face assured her that he was okay.

"Sexy.  Yeah, you're sexy," she replied.

Logan looked at her.  "You know…I liked what we did…before…last night."

Max laughed at him, tumbling over his words.  "You romance the ladies, much, Logan Cale?"

A small smile crossed Logan's face and he slowly rolled his eyes.  "I used to be something of a lady killer, back in the day…"

"I remember," she replied.

Logan moved closer to her and took her hand, raising it up to his lips.  He kissed it gently, then looked straight at her.  "I don't know what it is with us, Max, but I can't stop thinking about you."

Max nodded.  "Yeah, me too."

"Are we crazy?"

"Little bit," she answered.

He didn't reply, but instead, released her hand and turned his chair toward his bedroom.  Silently, he wheeled away from her.

She waited a moment, then followed him.

^^^^^^

The shades were drawn in his room, changing the bright sun to a gentle glow within the room.  Max stood at the door and watched as Logan slid from his chair onto the carefully made bed.

She watched as he lifted himself with his arms and swung onto the bed, then reached down and lifted his legs, one by one, onto the bed.  Using his arms, he moved further onto the bed and then again repeated the effort of moving his legs and feet along with the rest of his body.  

It was hard for her to remember him before the shooting; she had barely known him.   But it was clear that things had changed physically for him.  She could see his legs were much thinner than they would normally be for a man of his size.  It didn't seem as obvious when he was sitting in his chair, but now, on the bed she could tell.

Logan was quiet, waiting for her.  She crossed the room and sat down on the edge of the bed.  His eyes met hers and locked into her gaze before his hands moved down, loosening his shirt from the waist of his pants.  He slid it up and over his head, dropping it on the floor next to the bed.

Max slid further onto the bed, her hip resting next to Logan's feet.  She mimicked his movement, removing her own shirt.  She paused, then removed her bra, releasing her breasts.

Logan's eyes dipped for a moment, taking in her smooth skin, returning to lock eyes with her.

Loosening the waist of his pants, he rolled to the left and eased them down over his hip.  He rolled to the right, repeating the action.  Slowly, but surely, the pants moved down his legs.

Max kept her eyes from moving to his action, rather taking it in with her peripheral vision.  She watched as he struggled to pull the material from his limp legs, pulling the pants down over his unfeeling feet, past his knees, now bent and slumping over on one another.

Logan pulled the pants free and stopped.  His gaze dropped down and she followed his eyes as they focused on the tubing snaking down his leg.  After a half beat, he raised his eyes up again and she glanced up to meet them.

She hadn't thought about it, about what it would mean for him physically if he were hurt this way.  She knew he couldn't walk, but she had never taken the time to think about the other things.

Logan's hand moved down his shaft, easing the tube out of his body.  She watched from the corner of her eye as he clipped the tube and then loosened the bag strapped around his leg.  He looked down for a moment, as he removed the bag and set it along the bed, where it wouldn't be disturbed.

Max watched as Logan finished, then returned to meet his gaze as a small smile crept onto his face.  She reached up with her hand and ran her fingers down the side of his cheek, chin and down his neck.

Logan reached out and unbuttoned the top of her jeans, sliding the zipper down.  Max moved so she was straddling his legs and Logan reached forward and slid his hands down her back, slowly removing the jeans from her hips and down her legs.

Max slid back, resting on his legs as he pulled the denim free from her body.  Once that was done, he reached for her, pulling her toward him once again so he could slide her panties off.

Max moved so that her knees on either side of his.  She once again returned to his eyes, trying to understand how it was for him.  He was nervous, she could tell, but at the same time, there was a total sense of calm.

His eyes were drilling deep into her, peering into her soul.  She knew that he was looking for trepidation on her part, but she wasn't scared.

Logan pushed down with his arms, pulling himself so he rested higher on pillows at the head of the bed.

Max looked down at him, his eyes, his lips, down across his strong, broad shoulders and chest.  She reached down and whispered touches over his neck, across his shoulders and down his right arm.  He was strong from the therapy.

Logan continued to watch as she explored his body, her fingers moving down his chest, along his ribs, to the skim of hair that peeked up from his navel.

Max slid up closer to his hips, the skin on her thighs pressed against his cool, unfeeling skin.

He pushed up from the bed with his arms until he was sitting straight up, her body resting on his.

He continued to brace himself with his arms, leaning forward and kissing her, first along her neck and then down along her small, but firm breasts.  He teased the dark skin around her nipple until it stood hard, waiting for his ministrations to continue.

His head bent down as he tried to keep moving lower.  Understanding what he was doing, Max moved back, and his kisses moved lower.  He lifted once again and reclined back against the pillows.

Logan reached down, his hands on either side of her hips and pulled her up so she was on her knees facing him.  He moved himself slightly higher up the bed and began kissing her, his lips tasting her as she continued to grow wetter.  He reached up with his right hand and began to massage her.

Max began to gasp as the waves of desire passed through her.  It was unlike anything she'd experienced before, so different than the faceless sex she had sought out when her heat overwhelmed her.

She collapsed against him, unsure how to continue.  Her hand slipped down to do the same for him, but she stopped, knowing that it wouldn't affect him the same way.

She rolled off Logan's body and lay next to him, looking at him in the bed.  She wanted to reciprocate, to please him as he had pleased her.

Her hand strayed again, touching the soft slack skin between his legs.  It was smooth, betraying nothing about what it used to do for him.

Logan's hand reached down and took hers.  He moved it up his body, to his chest, where she knew he could still feel her touch.  He directed her across the light hair around his nipples and down along his side.  He lifted her hand so that her touch was light, almost a tickle, along his body, up to his arm.

He pulled his hand away and she continued her soft, tickling movements.

His breath quickened as hers had earlier and he squirmed slightly below her.

He seemed to be holding his breath, the touch of her hand bringing him to the edge and right over.  After a moment, he let it out.  She stopped and looked down at him.  His eyes were closed, but a look of pure pleasure was plastered on his face.

Max leaned down and whispered in his ear.  "I feel like a real shit, but if I don't go, Normal's going to have my hide."

"Go," Logan replied, his eyes still closed.  Then he opened them and locked her gaze once again.  "Amazing."

^^^^^^^

Max's motorcycle hummed below her as she raced across the city.  Nothing could hold her back today, not sector police or their lines, not even Normal.  Her soul wanted to sing.

She stashed the cycle behind Jam Pony and slipped into the locker room.

"Hey there," she greeted Original Cindy, who was standing in front of her locker.

Cindy turned to look at Max, her eyes moving slowly up and down Max's body.  "Damn, girl.  You got some."

Max shot her a questioning look.  "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you got busy with someone.  Original Cindy may not kick the licketyboo with the brothers, but she recognizes a booty call."

Max didn't reply, instead turning to search her locker for some mysteriously lost, completely necessary bike accoutrement.

"Fine, don't share the details with a sistah, but I'm tellin' you, Boo.  I know you got some."

She wasn't ready to share what had happened that morning.  It had exceeded whatever fantasies had been running through her head, but it also seemed like something Logan needed to do, needed to get over.  Maybe having her in the bag was like having her chase down Solinski.

But why had she done it?  Because she loved him?  Or because the thought of seeing him naked and in his bed had filled her thoughts since that first day in the hospital?  Maybe her motivations weren't any better than his.

It was something they were going to have to talk about.

To Be Continued…


	10. Chapter 10

Sorry for the wait...it's that busy time of the year for us!  We hope you enjoy this chapter.  Thanks for the reviews and we'd love to hear what you think about this chapter as well!

-----------------

Max lay in bed, her eyes fixed on the ceiling.  Her genetic make-up didn't require that she get a lot of sleep, but insomnia had never been a major issue.

Until now.

She couldn't get Logan out of her mind, but she had to.  After a deep kiss, trying to silently tell him everything she wanted to say, but couldn't, she had turned away and headed into the cabin with Zack.

She had to leave, not only to save her skin, but to save what was good about her and Logan.  She had to go before the twisted up stuff in her head ruined it for them, before he knew what she really was, before everything was ruined and she didn't even have the memories left.

She could still remember the night they shared, how intense it had been, but tender at the same time.  Being with Logan had been unlike any other experience she had had in her life.

But later, when she thought about it, when she reminded herself of the evening, it wasn't how he touched her, the kisses that had criss-crossed her body…no, what stayed with her was watching him pull himself into the bed, how he controlled his upper body and the rest simply had to follow.

She thought about his body and how it didn't work.  And she thought about what was broken.

That's what turned her on.  And it scared her.

^^^^^^^

Earlier that week

"You're not going to make me eat dinner all by myself, are you?" Logan asked as he wheeled up behind her. 

Max continued to look out the window into the rain.  "Do you think we did the right thing, Logan...by letting him take her back there?"

"You took her out of a bad situation, and you let her choose for herself."

Max waited and moment, then turned to face Logan.  "Yeah, I guess."

Logan pivoted his chair, to head back toward the kitchen.  "How'd you leave it with Zack?"

Max laughed slightly.  "He grunted something that sounded like goodbye and then disappeared into the night."

"Well, you should cut him some slack. He probably had a rotten childhood," Logan responded.

Max began to follow Logan into the other room.  "Worst part is he swung with Lydecker's ride. Tinted windows, class two armor...I could have fenced it for a fortune. He probably drove it off a bridge into the water somewhere so it couldn't be dusted for prints. He obsesses."

Logan stopped and turned back to face her.  "You need to be more careful yourself, you know...'cause now Lydecker knows what you look like," he said, his voice and face very serious.

Max nodded, then waited for a moment.  "So, you mentioned food?"

"Pasta with a shrimp basil and pesto sauce?"

"You got bread?" Max asked.

"And wine."

"Sign me up," she answered as they headed toward the kitchen to finish making dinner.

^^^^^^^

"That was amazing," Max said as she rested her head in Logan's lap.  Logan was sitting on the end of the couch with Max stretched out along the rest of the length.

Logan reached his hand over to move down her abdomen and across her stomach.  "I think I feel a slight paunch here."

Max sat up quickly and shot him a look.  "You felt a what?"

Logan laughed.  "I was teasing.  But, you did eat a decent amount of the pasta."

"Shellfish is not on the regular Jam Pony messenger's diet," Max said, as she slid back down to take her previous position.

"Normal's got something against shellfish?" Logan asked, as he knit his fingers into Max's hair, lightly massaging her scalp.

"Nah, just doesn't pay us enough that we could ever afford it," Max replied.  "Man, that feels awesome, Logan."

"Good," he answered.  "I like being able to do something for you.  You do so much for me…"

Max was quiet, then sighed.  "Two way street, Logan."

"Zack asked about us."

"Really?" Max asked.  "Like what?"

Logan's hand slowed, then stopped, resting on the top of her head.  "Asked if something was going on between us."

"And?"

"And I said I didn't know.  Cause I don't."

Max didn't answer.

"So, you don't either?"

Again Max didn't respond.

"So, it's late.  You want to stay here?"

Max didn't move.  "I should go.  Kendra will worry."

"You could call her," Logan replied as he lightly stroked her arm.  He moved to the spot along her neck bone, his hands so gentle and light on her skin.

"You're not helping," she told him, her mood lighter now.

"You should stay, Max.  Stay with me."

Max slipped from his touch and stood up.  "I want to…but I should go."

"You should stay.  You've had a couple of hard days.  You go call Kendra and tell her where you are and I'll draw a bath for you."

"Hmmm…hot bath or long ride home in the dark to a small and disorganized apartment.  That's a hard decision," Max teased.

"Go call her," Logan answered.

Max didn't answer, but instead headed for Logan's office to use the phone.

^^^^^^^^

"It's really unfair that there's such an imbalance between the haves and the have-nots," Max said as she sank into the steaming water filled with bubbles in Logan's bathtub.

"But you're friends with a 'have' and if we were all the same, you might not even get access to this tub," Logan reminded her.

"True," Max said, as she sighed and stretched her legs out to the end of the porcelain basin.

Logan reached down into the water with a small cloth.  After wringing it out, he leaned forward to wash the soft skin on Max's back.  He moved the cloth around her shoulder and down onto her breasts.  She sighed and lay back against the end of the tub, her eyes closed.

Logan continued to wash her skin, gently moving his cloth, dipping and rewetting when necessary.  As he was finishing, the phone rang.

"Might be someone important," Max said, her eyes still closed.

"Might not be," Logan answered.

The answering machine picked up and they could both hear Matt Sung's voice.

"Better go get that," Max said.

"Yeah."

Logan pivoted his chair and headed toward his office to try and catch Matt before he hung up.

As he left, Max opened her eyes and watched Logan's retreating form.  A whisper of warmth spread through her and she smiled.

Stepping from the bath, she wrapped herself in one of Logan's big, fluffy towels and then headed for the bedroom.  The bath had completely relaxed her and she just wanted to close her eyes for a minute…

^^^^^

After he finished his call, Logan came back into the bedroom.  Max was snuggled on the bed, wrapped in one of his better towels.  She was sound asleep and looked so relaxed, he didn't have the heart to wake her.  

Carefully, he slid onto the bed next to her, rolled on his side and slid his arm around her.

^^^^^^^

Through the thick haze of her slumber, Max could feel something batting her legs.  She stretched, then slid from Logan's embrace.

It was his legs.  They were jerking back and forth, kicking at her legs.

She looked over at Logan, but he was sleeping on, unaware of the ballet going on in his bed.

She reached down to still the spasms, but they were strong and easily slipped from her loose grasp.  She moved away from his reach and sat and watched.

It was bizarre.  His legs, the ones that didn't…couldn't move during the day were now taking on a life of their own.  They jerked and moved like someone was operating puppet strings.

No wonder his muscle stayed somewhat toned.  This was close to the type of kick-boxing work-outs they had done at Manticore.

Max reached down and took hold of Logan's right foot more tightly, easing the tightness out of the ankle joint by rotating it.  Then she began easing his leg back, working the muscles like she had observed Bling doing.  It seemed to be helping.  After massaging and stretching both legs, she lay back down next to him.

And thought about his question.

Was something going on between them?  

She didn't know.  What she did know was that she cared about Logan, and that what he thought mattered to her.

And then there was the other side.  The side that made her think about him incessantly.  The side that made it hard for her to sleep at night.  The part that filled her and made her warm.

The part that turned her on.  But that part was all about Logan being in the chair.  The way he looked.  The way he moved.  The way he couldn't move.

It made her throb.

^^^^^^

As the sun rose, Logan began to stir.  He rolled toward her and slipped his arm around her once again.  "Sleep okay?" he asked.

"Like a baby," she replied, not feeling the need to tell him about his middle of the night dance routine.  She hadn't needed the sleep anyway.  She slid out of his arms and stood up.

"Can I make you some breakfast?" Logan asked as he wiped the sleep from his eyes.  He reached for his glasses and slipped them on.

"Better not.  Normal's nose is still a bit out of joint after the whole saga with that potential investor, Sivapathasundaram or whatever the heck his name was…"

"Come over tonight?" Logan asked.  "We can play board games."

"Board games?" Max replied.

"Chess."

She paused, wondering about the night before, about the realization she had made.  She needed to cool it with him until she figured it out for herself.

But she wasn't ready to quit.  Not yet.  She couldn't give him up right now.

"Be here around eight," she replied, then without another word was on her way to Jam Pony.

^^^^^^

"You're going to be okay, you know."

Max turned to look at Logan as they sat in the driveway at Logan's family's cabin.  She forced a smile on her face.  "Oh, yeah. I'll be better than okay. It's the way I'm made. It's you I'm worried about."

"I'll miss you," Logan replied.

Max replied with a sharp laugh.  "You could always ditch it all and go on the lam with me. Great way to visit exotic places...meet new people... "

"I'd just slow you down," Logan replied, his voice serious.

"It's okay."  And it was.  She would do anything to have him go with her.  Anything except force him to stay with her.  She couldn't do that.

"I have to go back. Someone has to watch out for the downtrodden. Blah blah, woof woof, right?" Logan said.

"Right," Max answered.

Logan forced a smile on his face.  "Take care of yourself."

"You, too."

Max got out of the car and began walking toward the cabin.  She couldn't leave him yet.  She wasn't ready to give him up.  She stopped and turned back.  He was still watching her.  She ran back to the car and kissed him.  Hard.  And he kissed back.  Finally he broke the kiss.

"Just go," Logan ordered.

Max paused for a moment and then turned so Logan couldn't see the tears begin to run down her face.  She was at the door when she heard him turn over the engine and drive away.

^^^^^^^

Max lay in bed, her eyes fixed on the ceiling.  Suddenly she sat up with a start.  Something was wrong.

Her heart ached.  She missed him.  Desperately.

But something was really wrong.  

Max got up and went into the kitchen.  Another sign of the haves and have-nots...the Cales not only had a cabin, but one with running water, electricity and a phone.

She paused, unsure if she should do it or not, then dialed.

"Bling?  What are you doing with Logan's phone?"

She stood silent as Bling told her about Logan's collapse.  She barely got his location before she hung up and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Zack called after her.

They argued for a minute then Zack got in front of her.

"Out of my way, or I go through you. What's it gonna be?" Max yelled.

The fought until Max had Zack on the ground.  Once he was down, she stood back up and began to walk away.

"Do what you want, but don't think you're going to make it back out of there. You're throwing away your freedom," Zack called after her.

"Consider it a moment of weakness," Max responded as she headed toward the road.

But it wasn't a moment of weakness.  It was a moment of truth.  She couldn't leave him.  She wasn't ready to be done with Logan.

To Be Continued.


	11. Chapter 11

Here it is...the last chapter. Thanks to all of you who have been reading all along...additional notes at the end.

* * *

Max walked into Logan's hospital room. He was struggling to reach for the trapeze over his bed. She pushed the door closed and walked over to his bed.

"Hey, can I help?" she offered.

Logan grunted and eased himself onto his left side facing away from her. She walked around the end of the bed and dropped down into the chair next to him.

"Or I can watch."

Logan shot her a look.

"You had major surgery. You're not going to recover in a day," she pointed out.

Logan sighed.

"And your conversational skills were clearly affected as well," Max teased him.

Logan sighed once again.

Max walked around the bed and climbed up so she was sitting next to him. "You look awfully tense."

She began to massage his back, her hands working over the knots in his shoulders. Her hands moved down where a new scar joined the one that had graced his back since the shooting. Her fingers traced over the pink mark. It still bore the signs of the stitches that had recently been taken out.

"Does it hurt?" she asked quietly, her hand moving from the feeling to unfeeling zone.

"Leave it alone, Max," Logan's voice answered. It was slightly muffled because he had tucked his face into the pillow.

"It's just going to take a few days, Logan. It was major surgery, but they got the bullet out. You'll be fine now."

"Perfectly dandy," Logan spat out.

Max didn't respond. After a moment, Logan grabbed the trapeze again and eased himself so he was again lying on his back. He locked eyes with her.

"Why do you even look at it?" he asked her. "Why did you come back here?"

Max moved across the bed, sliding her right leg across his body and straddled him. "Cause it's hot. Cause it turns me on."

Logan stared up at her. "Seriously. Like, all of this?" He pulled the blanket down so she could see his thin legs, the tubes coming from his body after the surgery. "You like that?"

Max could feel the warmth growing between her legs. She leaned forward and touched his unfeeling skin. "Yeah, it's pretty good for me."

Logan pushed her away. "That's pretty sick, Max. You're sick."

Max looked back at him. "But I want to be with you."

"If I'm crippled? You like that I'm broken? You want to see me crawling along the ground so I can get to the toilet?"

Max slipped from the bed. "No, it's not like that. It's something else. It's something about you, how you are, how you move."

"You have a thing for men who can't do it normally? Is it a power thing with you? Or are you just sick?" Logan yelled.

The tears began to flow down Max's cheeks. She started to respond, then fled from his room.

^^^^^^^  
Max sat up with a start, her cheeks still slightly wet with the tears from her dream. No, scratch thather worst nightmare. Was that really how it would go down? Would Logan ever understand if he found out about herissues.

She could never tell him. If she couldn't cover it up, she'd have to take off and leave him, because it would kill her to hurt him.

But that might kill her too.

But things had been different between them, since she had almost left, as well as after the surgery. Logan's recovery had taken longer than he wanted and he had hated being reliant on her and Bling for anything.

And it had made her happy. Excited her. And that bothered her as well.

So tonight she was making him dinner. At her place. It was a new beginning. And this time it would be about Logan the man, not Logan the guy in the wheelchair. Her feelings were for him. She wasn't one of those peopleshe wasn't the guy in the park who followed Logan and stared at his legs.

She loved his grace, how easily he moved like someone would love the movement of a skilled basketball star. It wasn't about the other stuff. She wasn't like that.

Tonight she was going to focus on thaton the things they talked about, Logan's love for wine, the food. Hopefully it would be edible.

^^^^^^^^  
QUID

PRO

QUO

Max shook her head as she stormed from Logan's apartment. She was furious. She'd show him quid pro quo. 

She had been so stupid, assuming

Assuming that her issues were the thing that could keep them apart. Never had she considered that it could be that Logan Cale was an asshole.

Nothing about him seemed so sexy tonight. Jerk. She had tried to do something nice for him, cook him dinner but instead it was all business. Eyes Only business. She was trying to make a new start. Couldn't he figure that out?

She pushed open the door to Logan's building and walked out into the dark night. Damn. She had come with him. No Ninjano bike.

Max stood there for a moment then turned and started the long walk home.

^^^^^^  
Max picked up her beer and headed back across the floor at Crash to the table where Original Cindy sat waiting for her. 

"So he totally bailed on you? After you cooked for him? Dayum."

Max nodded. "It was likewell, it was like he needed me to drop off a package."

"Treatin' you like Normalthat's low, Boo."

"I don't understand women who need a man to make themselves feel complete," Max replied.

"Put the bullet right here," Original Cindy answered, raising her pointer finger to her forehead.

Max looked over Original Cindy's shoulder. "Shoot. I told Kendra about last night and now she's here with two boy toys."

"The more the merrier?" Original Cindy asked.

"Definitely not in the mood," Max replied.

"Surprise, surprise. Max, this is Sven," Kendra introduced Max.

"Hello, Mac," Sven replied.

Max laughed at him, half listening to Kendra until the TV program cut out and the familiar voice of Eyes Only filled the room. She made her excuses and then left. Even the sound of his voice made her nuts. 

Hopping on the Ninja, Max raced off into the night.

^^^^^^^  
The water was pounding on her face, the mud sliding off her body and swirling down into the drain. A shot of cold air swept past her bare body as the door to the shower opened.

"Room for two?" he asked.

She turned and watched as he gracefully slid from his chair to the built-in bench at the end of the shower stall.

His eyes moved slowly over her body, the marks from their adventures that night still evident in the small folds in her skins around her knees and ankles.

"Sorry about the mud," he apologized.

She smiled at him. "Mud's good for a girl's skin now and then."

He held up a washcloth and gestured for her to come closer. She moved so she was in easy reach of where he sat.

He reached down to her knee and lifted her leg so that it rested next to his on the bench. With the washcloth he began to wash away the remaining mud from her skin. The washcloth moved over her knee and down to her ankle, then back up to her thigh and then higher until he was between her legs, using his cloth to abrade her core. She began to pant as the pressure grew. Her arm went out to his shoulder so she could brace herself. 

Logan pulled her closer, her leg bending as her foot remained next to his leg. He leaned forward and replaced the cloth with his tongue. He explored her body, sliding in and out of her.

Her back arched away from him as she began to climax. As the pleasure washed over her body, she fell forward, their skin pressed together.

"You enjoying your mud bath?" he asked.

She nodded, her hands laced in the hair on his chest

The car honked behind her again. Max looked up. The light was green. She revved the motor on the Ninja and took off again into the night.

As the cycle raced along the streets, her mind ran through the events of the past few days. She had been committed to trying this again, to working on her relationship with Logan, making it morenormal.

So she tried to make him dinner, but that didn't work. Instead Logan had his "protect the world" armor on again and there was no getting close to him when he was like that.

So she did his legwork with Bronck and for that she'd gotten a mouth full of mud. And no acknowledgment from Logan that she meant anything to him. That night at the airport wasn't the reason she was mad at him, but it was the straw that broke the camel's back. Clearly he didn't care about her the way she thought he did, so why was she busting her butt feeling bad about objectifying him? It's not like he was into her for her soulit was just what her genetically enhanced skills could do for him and his little mission to nowhere.

It was time to take a little break from Mister Logan Cale.

^^^^^^^  
And as breaks go, it wasn't bad, except Logan got kidnapped. That was the wake-up call for her.

He drove her crazy. But, there was something about Logan, something deeper than her level of irritation at him. It was the thing that made her jump on her bike and race to rescue him the minute she heard he was in danger.

It was primal in a way. 

As they drove back to Logan's apartment she watched him. He was acting like everything was fine, but she knew it wasn't true.

Bling pulled into the garage under the apartment building and turned off the car.

"Your chair's in the back. I grabbed it after they took off with you," Bling said.

Logan nodded.

Bling turned back to where Max sat in the back of the Aztek. "I'm going to head out. You cool here?"  
"Yeah," Max replied.

"You think Matt is okay?" Logan asked.

"He'll be fine," Bling answered. "I don't think they did any real damage to him. They would have, if Max hadn't showed up, but he's okay."

Logan didn't answer.

"You need anything else here?" Bling asked.

"Nah, take off," Max answered as she pushed open the door of the car. She met Bling at the back of the car.

"You gonna stick around for a while?" the therapist asked.

Max nodded. "Yeah, he talks big, but I think this one scared him a little bit."

"Thanks, Max. I didn't know what to do," Bling replied.

"You did what any of us would do," she answered as she lifted open the gate of the car. She pulled out Logan's wheelchair and quickly snapped the wheels back on. "Now, get out of here. We're tired and you need to go home."

Bling smiled and headed for the exit. Max pushed the wheelchair up to the passenger door where Logan waited.

"So, shall we go? I know that I need another shower and well, you could use one too," she said as Logan transferred into the chair.

"Yeah, I'm more than ready to wash Gerhard Bronck off this body," Logan answered.

^^^^^^^^  
Max waited as Logan took his shower. It hadn't seemed like the right time to join him. She was gazing out the window over the city when she heard him come into the living room.

"You were right about Bronck," she said as she turned to face him.

"Great place, America. Kid's walking home from school...next thing she knows, she belongs to the highest bidder, working in a brothel on the other side of the world someplace. And Bronck's been making a killing every planeload," Logan answered, his voice casual and not betraying the trauma of the day.

"And I almost let him get away with it," Max answered. It was one thing to let her irritation with Logan affect their relationship, but this time it had gone much further, and she had endangered other people's lives.

Logan moved closer to where she was standing. "The bottom line is he's out of business. You did good."

"I just wish I could've done something about those kids on the plane that other night."

"Got a lead they're being held by a middleman in L.A. Got some people on it."

Max took a step closer, a smile on her face. "So, do I finally get my Eyes Only secret decoder ring?"

Logan's face grew serious. His eyes dropped to his feet, then he raised them again to meet hers. "Listen...I'm sorry about the other night. I, uh...I guess I have been a little too focused on my mission. I don't know, maybe Eyes Only has been a way of not having to, uh, think about the less...pleasant aspects of my life. Maybe it is a Halloween mask I've been hiding behind."

Max kneeled down and took his hand. "You don't have to. Not from me."

Logan raised her hands up to his lips and kissed them lightly. They sat silent for a moment, then he spoke.

"I've got everything we need to whip up a pasta tricolore."

Max stood up. "I can boil the water."

Logan shot her a teasing look. "You can?"

"Mm-hmm," she answered as she headed toward the kitchen. She paused as Logan's phone rang. 

"Yeah...Word on the net is he's a weapons dealer?...Mm-hmm...Okay, this is definitely something Eyes Only's going to have to get into...Really? When?...Tonight? No, I can't. I'll have to call you tomorrow...Yeah. Bye."

"Don't hold up the war on my account," Max said as Logan ended the call.

"The world will still be broken in the morning," Logan replied as he wheeled around her and headed once again for the kitchen.

Max laughed, then followed him. "You really don't think I can boil water, do you?"

"Enough that I'm willing to put off an Eyes Only mission to find out," he retorted.  
Max waited as he pulled out a pot and handed to her.

"So, the water goes in here?" she asked, her voice serious.

Logan nodded, trying not to laugh. "Why don't you work on the wine after you get that water going."

Max set the pot of water on the burner and turned the flame up on high. Logan had set out a lovely bottle of pre-Pulse Merlot.

"Careful with the cork. It's old and might crumble," Logan said as he began chopping and onion.

Max carefully began twisting the corkscrew.

"Go slow," Logan warned.

Max glared at him. "I am."

"It's a good vintage," he replied.

Max gave it another tug. Suddenly there was a pop and the cork and corkscrew were propelled from the bottle. Wine shot everywhere, mostly covering Logan.

Max stood silent, in shock, the now empty bottle still in her hands. Logan's shirt was covered with a light pink spatter.

He reached down and slid his finger through a large drop that rest on his forearm. He stuck the finger in his mouth and smiled. "Oh, it was an excellent year."

"LoganI'm sorry," Max apologized.

"Don't worry, like I said, the cork was probably bad," he answered. "I'm going to go take this off and see if I can get the stains out."

Logan pivoted his chair and headed toward his bedroom.

Max busied herself wiping up the wine that had landed on the floor and the fronts of the cupboards. As she finished up, the boiling water began hissing and spilling over on the cook top.

"Logan?" Max called. She waited for a moment, then headed down the hallway toward his bedroom.

She tapped on his door, then walked in. "Hey, I thought maybe you got lost in here."

Logan turned his chair away from his closet and faced her. "Sorry, I was trying to rinse the wine out before I put it in the wash."

"Sorry about the shower."

"No problem."

Max crossed the room and sat down at the end of the bed. "Not that this doesn't look bad."

Logan looked down at his bare chest. "You like that?"

Max nodded. "Yeah, I'm into that."

"What else are you into?" Logan replied, his voice teasing.

"Come over here, I'll show you," she replied.

Logan looked at her, then pressed his hands down on his wheels and propelled his chair forward toward her. He stopped at the end of the bed.

Max inched forward so that her legs were on either side of his. She reach up and placed her hands flat against his pecs. Then she slowly moved her hands up so they were along his shoulders.

Pulling him closer, she leaned in and pressed her lips against his. She never tired of how it felt to kiss Logan Cale. She felt his body against hers and it was good. It felt right. Yeah, it was true there was something about his condition that turned her on, but for all she knew, he was mostly into girls who had a little feline in their blood.

It takes all kinds to make the world run, she thought. And they were running just fine.

The end.  


* * *

Well, we wondered when and if you'd catch on... We're shippers, but not slaves to the canon. We got the idea one night when we were taking a look at the DA fandom. One of us said "what if Max was a devo..." We both laughed. Then the other one said "you know, that might be a good story." We started tongue in cheek, but our story changed. So, we guess the question still remains...what if Max was a devo?

Two SmartAss Girls ;-)


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